Some vehicles employ four-wheel drive systems to increase traction for off-road driving as well as low traction on-road driving. However, it may be desirable to provide optional engagement/disengagement of the four-wheel drive system to increase the versatility of the vehicle. Specifically, two of the drive wheels may be disengaged to provide two-wheel drive during on-road driving to increase the vehicle's fuel economy. On the other hand, four-wheel drive may be used to provide increased traction during certain driving conditions, such as vehicle operation on dirt roads, snow, etc. In this way, a user may adjust a vehicle's drivetrain based on the driving circumstances and the desired vehicle performance characteristics.
Engagement of four-wheel drive systems may be automatically activated or manually activated. Although automatic four-wheel drive engagement has a number of benefits, such as decreased user interaction, automatic engagement four-wheel drive systems also may have some drawbacks, such as greater manufacturing cost as well as repair and maintenance costs. On the other hand, manually engaged four-wheel drive systems have certain benefits over automatically engaged system, such as increased reliability and decreased manufacturing and repair costs. Therefore, manual four-wheel drive systems may be desired by users who prefer less complex and more reliable four-wheel drive systems, such as off-road enthusiasts.
However, many manual locking hub systems do not achieve an adequate amount reliability and may break, necessitating repair. For instance, certain manual locking hub systems employ plastic components which are not durable and can break during off-road use, installation, and/or removal. Additionally, some systems employ a floating bearing housing which allows for movement and wear. Furthermore, it may be difficult to disassemble the manual locking hubs without the use of specialized tools due to the design of the hub lock, necessitating full replacement of the hub lock as opposed to replacement of only the broken parts in the hub lock.